The more I reflect on London's cycle hire scheme the less sense it makes to me. Let's kick off with the cost of it. In his 2008 transport manifesto Boris Johnson pledged to "broker a deal with a private company to bring thousands of bikes to the capital at no cost to the taxpayer." In fact, Transport for London says that the taxpayer will end up being charged £79 million for the setting up of the "Boris bikes" scheme - ten times the amount spent on developing the mayor's New Bus for London - and its running costs are a daily drain on Transport for London's shrinking purse.

TfL recently said it doesn't anticipate breaking even on the scheme's £18 million annual operational costs until "the latter part" of its five-year sponsorship contract with Barclays - a contract worth only "up to" £5 million a year. Does this represent a good deal from a mayor who promised value for money? It can legitimately be argued that the cycle hire scheme is a form of public transport, and therefore just as deserving of taxpayer subsidy as the buses and the Underground. But who is enjoying the benefits?

Annual membership of the scheme costs £45. Given that the first half hour of a hire period is free, this means that members can ride "Boris bikes" for short trips every day for a pound a week. About 95% of all hire bike trips last for less than 30 minutes. That's a pretty good deal for, say, commuters shuttling back and forth between railway termini and their workplaces in the City, but maybe not so good for Londoners in general. Boris's manifesto claimed that his cycle hire scheme would "provide a genuinely sustainable alternative to the car." In reality, it's providing a cheap alternative to the Tube or number 26 between Bank and Waterloo.

This blog may at times give the impression that we don't like Barnet Conservatives per se. Nothing could be further from the truth. In actual fact some of them are very nice people. Some of them would never dream of treating residents in a high handed or rude manner.

Coming upOn Tuesday morning, London Assembly committee members will quiz invited guests about policing costs: specifically in relation to August's riots and next year's Olympic games. On Friday afternoon, the mayor's Time for Action panel will question guests, including members of the mayor's youth team, about the role of mentoring in averting youth crime. I'll have news about Ken Livingstone's mayoral challenge and maybe a little something about Boris's new London bus.